A collector's item

'... the rapport between Mr Isserlis and Mr Hough is on the order of the clairvoyant.'

On the rare occasion a recording comes along that preserves, for
generations to come, the playing of an equally rare artist. In the case
of this extraordinary recital, there is a bonus: the stratospheric
musicianship of two equally gifted collaborators, cellist Steven
Isserlis and pianist Stephen Hough
[listen -- track 3, 0:02-1:21].

Mr Isserlis is a remarkable musician, and in Mr Hough, the celebrated
pianist, he has found an ideal partner. Hardly one to wear his heart on
his sleeve, Mr Isserlis's approach to music, at once vibrant and
imaginative, combines the greatest interpretive refinement with near
lapidary craftsmanship. Refusing to settle for a beautiful sound or the
big gesture, he embraces a kind of tensile athleticism wed to an uncanny
ability to illuminate a phrase from within, much in the way that
chiaroscuro throws a human subject into lifelike relief.

Mr Isserlis is a throwback of sorts. For his subtle plasticity, rich
exploration of compositional events, and command of inflection, he
brings to mind the music making of great artists long dead, not the
least of whom are the French pianist Alfred Cortot and the Russian
conductor Evgeni Mravinsky. Not a measure goes by that isn't exploited
for what makes it tick. Perhaps most notable is Mr Isserlis's ability
to build and then sustain a climax as if by stealth; just as you think
he's reached the apex, he identifies some new and unexpected musical
relationship. Indeed, for him music is a shaded mosaic of contrasts that
refracts tone just as a prism does light, now illuminating this or that
hidden recess.

What sets these performances apart from others is an attitude. Isserlis
and Hough treat each of these sonatas as real chamber music, rather than
an ersatz piano concerto with cello obbligato, which has become all but
the style du jour. That's especially relevant, given that Mr Hough, a
super-virtuoso, refuses to show off his technical abilities in the
litany of scales and furious fortissimos that populate the work,
preferring instead to listen with care to what Mr Isserlis has to say
about things. To be sure, Mr Hough's mercurial and civilized playing
has its advantages in music laden with so many notes and massive chords
that could easily drown out his partner.